


A Drop Of Time

by dogsat4



Category: Arjuna Earth Girl, Arjuna: Earth Maiden, Naruto
Genre: A fix it, Alternate Universe, Arjuna Earth Maiden, Crossover, Diverges from Cannon, During Cannon, Fix-It, Gen, Kakashi is getting over them, Pre-Cannon, Rin is alive, Rin is in the same boat as Obito, Spirit Walking, Tenses are screwed, au!, dream walking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-16
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-21 00:42:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4808396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dogsat4/pseuds/dogsat4
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The time of the Raja has long since past. A new Avatar of time is need. Rin has recently died, and with the knowledge that both of her teammates death, can she change it?<br/>This is a Rin centric fic but also still focuses on Obito and Kakashi. I suck as summaries, it better than it sounds, promise! Also some spoilers for the end of Naruto plus this is AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

Rin woke up. There was no other way to put it, she woke up. This was a surprise to her simply because she hadn't expected to wake, after all she did have a hole where her hearth was. Courtesy of putting herself in the direct path of her teammate's lightening technique. Another oddity to this was she woke standing up and starring at her teammate's silver hair.

Rin stared at Kakashi and her own body and the dead bodies of the rain hunter nin who had been sent to retrieve her. Kakashi was lying on his back, face to the sky. And then there was her own body, which was being cradled by her other supposedly dead teammate; Obito. She stared in shock, her mind was seeing but failing to comprehend the scene before her. This was Obito, this person with the wild and untamed hair was Obito, this person with what looked like tree roots coming out of his shoulders, whispering sweet nothings into her ear was Obito. But as he hugged her body to him, eye broken and filled with a mix of grief and madness and rage, whispering her name Rin started to believe that this person before her was, indeed Obito.

Moving away from Obito crying over her...body, Rin moved closer to Kakashi to inspect him closer. Not only was he lying on his back but there was a pained and defeated expression on his face, even while unconscious he felt that the guilt was his. Rin sighed, while her death hadn't been pleasant, it had been for the good of the village but that excuse would fall short in the long run since she Knew Kakashi would blame her death as his fault as he had done with Obito's. 'And' Rin quietly admits to herself 'it was the easy way out'. She could have waited away from the village and Minato-Sensei, waited for help to arrive to fix the seal on her body but in the end she chose a cowards death and saddling the trauma on Kakashi.

Slowly Rin made her way to the downed ninja and gently attempted to brush his hair aside only to have her hand simply pass through it. With a sigh, Rin places her hand on his forehead in an attempt to smooth out his expression and express her gratitude and apology. Instead she is bombarded with a sudden torrent of images, of memories, visions and emotions. Kakashi's past and future is laid bare before her, his sorrow, grief and happiness all in her head. However it's his death that makes her want to jerk away in denial and disbelief. But the images keep moving forward and beyond his death. The last thing she sees is a giant flower, a woman coming down from the moon, so much death and...a sharingan etched in the sky. There are bodies, so many bodies. A young man cries over Kakashi's body and when he looks up, Rin's breath catches in her throat.

'He looks just like Sensei' she thinks in a daze. The thing that scares her the most is the sudden emergence of a planet and on it she can distinguish the five great nations and can only watch in horror as a dark brown stain spreads and she just KNOWS that there is death where ever the stain spreads.

With a sudden jerk, Rin stumbles back into reality. Breathing hard and frantic, Rin whirls to where Obito still is, hunched over her fallen form. She staggers to him and too places a hand on his forehead. This time she is ready for the onslaught of images. His past and future is also laid before her and she watches as Obito becomes twisted by the  
words of a madman. The crimes he commits, the hatred that builds and the dream that he works so hard to achieve. Then there was Kakashi's death. It was Obito that dealt the final blow. Rin sees beyond that and watches as the moon princess Kagyua returns, watches as Obito realizes his mistake and the effect it had on him. She feels Obito's death as he sacrifices himself for the boy named after a ramen topping, Naruto. The boy who united all the hidden villages and the great nations against this threat. The final after images are the same as Kakashi's memory reel but they shake her to her core all the same.

A startled gasp and Rin returns to reality once more. She falls to the floor as the implications reach home. For Obito, her death was the catalyst of the reel, her death was the cause of all to come. But if she continued further, the old wrinkled man by the name Madara Uchiha was aware of the love Obito felt for her and used it against him.With a tired and drained sigh, she watches as Obito lays her body back down and phases into the ground, leaving her alone with the corpses and Kakashi's unconscious form as company.

'With all you have seen, will you accept it as the future?' A voice suddenly asks and Rin starts, whirled around to the location of the voice, hand on her Kunai pouch. She may be dead but that won't stop her from protecting her teammate.

"Who's there?" Rin demands harshly, still in her curled position. The demand alone goes against her shinobi training but she's dead, so what did it matter? A figure enveloped in white light drifted towards her bring a sense of calm that Rin had felt from her own mother. As the figure floated closer, the more pronounced her features became.

'I am Juna, the Avatar of time of an Era long past' cam the soothing voice. The figure was a woman, who couldn't be much older than herself, and wrapped in a silk robe like those ancient stories of the celestial beings. Her face was of a serene countenance with a strange mark on her forehead that looked like a ying-yang symbol and her whole aura glows a serene green, reminding Rin of the fresh moss on a misty morning, of the glow worm that had lit the caves where her team had slept. And mostly it reminded Rin of the green glow of medical chakra, of something meant to save lives rather than take it.

"Avatar of time?" Rin asks curiously, feeling a little out of depth.

'You have seen the end of this planet, you have seen the deaths of your family. Do you accept the chance to change it?' The woman asks again.

"If I become this 'Avatar of Time', can I prevent this?" Rin snaps, gesturing vaguely towards Kakashi, a protective instinct flaring up.

'Yes' was the simple reply. Rin took a deep breath to steel her nerves. If she accepted then there was a chance she could prevent the final outcome of the death of the Planet and more importantly to her, the death of her teammates.

"I accept". The spirit, Juna smiles in triumph.

'You must awake and follow quickly' Juna urges softly. Rin feels her brows furrow in confusion.

"wha...?" was all Rin could manage before she was harshly pulled backwards. Although Rin couldn't see it but she felt that she was yanked back into her body.

Rin's eyes snapped open and she sat up in a daze. The feeling of water running down her back, the smell of blood in the air and the hard earth beneath her and her heart beating in her chest. All of this shocked her because she knew she had died and yet she was experiencing this as if she still lived.

Obito was gone but Kakashi was still there lying faced up at the moon. Standing up and quickly making her way over to Kakashi, Rin stopped and knelt besides him a fond smile on her lips as she combs her fingers through his hair. She leans over and kisses his forehead and gently whispers.

"Thank you and I'm so sorry" before getting up and turning to leave. A pain moan and strangled voice reached her ears.

"N...ooo. R-r-rin" Rin bit her lip, looking sadly at Kakashi and tired sigh as Rin forces her self away, a final glance of contempt aim at the moon and vanishes into the forest, following the floating spirit as she glides ahead and silently promising that they will meet again.

x

She followed Juna through the woods to a cave entrance which a multitude of different plants covering the mouth, making it hard to see and Rin had only noticed it when Juna had pointed it out. 'I need to polish up my observation skills' an idle thought as she curiously followed the spirit through the winding tunnels until she had reached the opening.

Rin stopped amazed by what she was seeing. It was a whole ecosystem that had arisen. A forest which was thriving under ground and the only light that was seen was the soft green glows the bugs which covered the roof. Feeling wonder Rin searched through the darkness as she follows Juna, thinking about how she would have loved to share this with Kakashi. 'Kakashi' the sudden thought of his name halts her train of thought. She had left him there, in the middle of the carnage. He would be found but there was no body of hers and then, Rin knew, she would be considered dead and Kakashi would bear the guilt upon his shoulders and would blame himself for the deaths of Obito and Her.

Rin sighed tiredly as she though about her team mate, failing to notice the Juna had stopped moving but was waiting at an old stone alter. On the stone alter, there was what looked like a roughly shaped yang symbol but instead of being black or white, it was a green. A green that reminded Rin of the ocean on a shallow area, where her team had spent the day away from the war and relaxing.

 

'This is the Drop of Time' Juna speaks softly, noticing the trance that Rin had been captured in.

"The Drop of Time" Rin echo reverently as she slowly inches closer to the stone.

'It was created by an ancient people who resonated with the Earth' Juna repeats, a smile on her lips as she repeats the very words that Chris had said to her.

Juna held out the the drop to her and Rin stares transfixed by it as she slowly reaches out to touch it. Her hand makes contact with the bead and gasps as the feeling of the earth rotating, the glimpse of the emotions of all of the people in the elemental nations and the very planet self. Rin vaguely takes note that she is glowing with a faint blue as Juna glows with a vibrant green and seven points with in her lighting up and Rin can feel the reaction as all ten of her chakra gates suddenly swell as an energy surge form Juna rushes into her.

Juna releases the Drop of time and watches carefully as Rin accepts the Drop and as the Drop in turns accept her as her own arm reaches up to place the Drop on her own forehead. Shuddering as the bond between the Avatar is completed.

Juna sighs in triumph and slowly floats over the dazed form of Rin and waits patiently for her to regain her senses. Her eyes flutter as her mind re-orientates itself, distractedly taking note of the extra presence within her mind and the power slumbering behind the mental wall.

"That was..." Rin trails off, coming back to herself as she looks to Juna. Juna smiles and nods.

'I know. And now it's time the training' Juna replies, mirth and a deep understanding her eyes. Rin absently notes that the entire time that Juna has been speaking to, not once has she opened her mouth.

"Training?" Rin yelps as she's dragged further into the forest by the arm as Juna was suspiciously more solid then she was before.

The Beginning:

Rin woke up. There was no other way to put it, she woke up. This was a surprise to her simply because she hadn't expected to wake, after all she did have a hole where her heart was. Courtesy of putting herself in the direct path of her teammate's lightening technique. Another oddity to this was she woke standing up and starring at her teammate's silver hair when she knew that she had died.

Rin stared at Kakashi and her own body and the dead bodies of the rain hunter nin who had been sent to retrieve her. Kakashi was lying on his back, face to the sky. And then there was her own body, which was being cradled by her other supposedly dead teammate; Obito. She stared in shock, her mind was seeing but failing to comprehend the scene before her. This was Obito, this person with the wild and untamed hair was Obito, this person with what looked like tree roots coming out of his shoulders, whispering sweet nothings into her ear was Obito. But as he hugged her body to him, eye broken and filled with a mix of grief and madness and rage, whispering her name Rin started to believe that this person before her was, indeed Obito.

Moving away from Obito crying over her...body, Rin moved closer to Kakashi to inspect him closer. Not only was he lying on his back but there was a pained and defeated expression on his face, even while unconscious he felt that the guilt was his. Rin sighed, while her death hadn't been pleasant, it had been for the good of the village but that excuse would fall short in the long run since she Knew Kakashi would blame her death as his fault as he had done with Obito's. 'And' Rin quietly admits to herself 'it was the easy way out'. She could have waited away from the village and Minato-Sensei, waited for help to arrive to fix the seal on her body but in the end she chose a cowards death and saddling the trauma on Kakashi.

Slowly Rin made her way to the downed ninja and gently attempted to brush his hair aside only to have her hand simply pass through it. With a sigh, Rin places her hand on his forehead in an attempt to smooth out his expression and express her gratitude and apology. Instead she is bombarded with a sudden torrent of images, of memories, visions and emotions. Kakashi's past and future is laid bare before her, his sorrow, grief and happiness all in her head. However it's his death that makes her want to jerk away in denial and disbelief. But the images keep moving forward and beyond his death. The last thing she sees is a giant flower, a woman coming down from the moon, so much death and...a sharingan etched in the sky. There are bodies, so many bodies. A young man cries over Kakashi's body and when he looks up, Rin's breath catches in her throat.

'He looks just like Sensei' she thinks in a daze. The thing that scares her the most is the sudden emergence of a planet and on it she can distinguish the five great nations and can only watch in horror as a dark brown stain spreads and she just KNOWS that there is death where ever the stain spreads.

With a sudden jerk, Rin stumbles back into reality. Breathing hard and frantic, Rin whirls to where Obito still is, hunched over her fallen form. She staggers to him and too places a hand on his forehead. This time she is ready for the onslaught of images. His past and future is also laid before her and she watches as Obito becomes twisted by the words of a madman. The crimes he commits, the hatred that builds and the dream that he works so hard to achieve. Then there was Kakashi's death. It was Obito that dealt the final blow. Rin sees beyond that and watches as the moon princess Kaguya returns, watches as Obito realizes his mistake and the effect it had on him. She feels Obito's death as he sacrifices himself for the boy named after a ramen topping, Naruto. The boy who united all the hidden villages and the great nations against this threat. The final after images are the same as Kakashi's memory reel but they shake her to her core all the same.

A startled gasp and Rin returns to reality once more. She falls to the floor as the implications reach home. For Obito, her death was the catalyst of the reel, her death was the cause of all to come. But if she continued further, the old wrinkled man by the name Madara Uchiha was aware of the love Obito felt for her and used it against a tired and drained sigh, she watches as Obito lays her body back down and phases into the ground, leaving her alone with the corpses and Kakashi's unconscious form as company.

 _'With all you have seen, will you accept it as the future?'_ A voice suddenly asks and Rin starts, whirled around to the location of the voice, hand on her Kunai pouch. She may be dead but that won't stop her from protecting her teammate.

"Who's there?" Rin demands harshly, still in her curled position. The demand alone goes against her shinobi training but she's dead, so what did it matter? A figure enveloped in white light drifted towards her bring a sense of calm that Rin had felt from her own mother. As the figure floated closer, the more pronounced her features became.

 _'I am Juna, the Avatar of time of an Era long past'_ came the soothing voice. The figure was a woman, who couldn't be much older than herself, and wrapped in a silk robe like those ancient stories of the celestial beings. Her face was of a serene countenance with a strange mark on her forehead that looked like half of a ying-yang symbol and her whole aura glows a serene green, reminding Rin of the fresh moss on a misty morning, of the glow worm that had lit the caves where her team had slept. And mostly it reminded Rin of the green glow of medical chakra, of something meant to save lives rather than take it.

"Avatar of time?" Rin asks curiously, feeling a little out of depth.

 _'You have seen the end of this planet, you have seen the deaths of those you consider family. Do you accept the chance to change it?'_ The woman asks again.

"If I become this 'Avatar of Time', can I prevent this? Can I save _them._ " Rin snaps, gesturing towards Kakashi, a protective instinct flaring up.

 _'Yes'_ was the simple reply. Rin took a deep breath to steel her nerves. If she accepted then there was a chance she could prevent the final outcome of the death of the Planet and more importantly to her, the death of her teammates, her family.

"I accept". The spirit, Juna smiles in triumph.

 _'You must awake and follow quickly.'_ Juna urges softly. Rin feels her brows furrow in confusion.

"wha...?" was all Rin could manage before she was harshly pulled backwards. Although Rin couldn't see it but she felt that she was yanked back into her body.

Rin's eyes snapped open and she sat up in a daze. The feeling of water running down her back, the smell of blood in the air and the hard earth beneath her, the taste of the metal tang in her mouth and her heart beating in her chest. All of this shocked her because she knew she had died, she had felt it and yet she was experiencing this as if she still lived.

Obito was gone but Kakashi was still there lying faced up at the moon. Standing up and quickly making her way over to Kakashi, Rin stopped and knelt besides him a fond smile on her lips as she gently combs her fingers through his hair. She leans over and kisses his forehead and gently whispers.

"Thank you and I'm so sorry" before getting up and turning to leave. A pain moan and strangled voice reached her ears.

"N...ooo. R-r-rin" Rin bit her lip, looking sadly at Kakashi and sighs tiredly as she forces herself away, a final glance of contempt aimed at the moon and vanishes into the forest, following the floating spirit as she glides ahead and silently promising to herself and Kakashi that they will meet again.

x

Rin followed Juna through the woods to a cave entrance which a multitude of different plants covering the mouth, making it hard to see and she had only noticed it when Juna had pointed it out. 'I need to polish up my observation skills' an idle thought passes through her mind as she cautiously followed the spirit through the winding tunnels until they had reached the opening.

Rin stopped amazed by what she was seeing. It was a whole ecosystem that had arisen. A forest which was thriving under ground and the only light that was seen was the soft green glows the bugs which covered the roof. Feeling wonder Rin searched through the darkness as she follows Juna, thinking about how she would have loved to share this with Kakashi, Obito and Sensei. _'Kakashi'_ the sudden thought of his name halts her train of thought. She had left him there, in the middle of the carnage. He would be found but no one would find her body, just her blood and then, Rin knew, she would be considered dead and Kakashi would bear the guilt upon his shoulders and would blame himself for the deaths of Obito and Her.

Rin sighed tiredly as she though about her team mate, failing to notice the Juna had stopped moving but was waiting at an old stone alter. She looks up sharply when she bumped into the cold stone. On the stone alter, there was what looked like a roughly shaped yang symbol, just like the one on Juna's forehead, but instead of being black or white, it was a green. A green that reminded Rin of the ocean on a shallow sand bank, where her team had spent the day away from the war and relaxing.

 _'This is the Drop of Time'_ Juna speaks softly, noticing the trance that Rin had been captured in.

"The Drop of Time" Rin echo reverently as she slowly inches closer to the stone.

 _'It was created by an ancient people who resonated with the Earth'_ Juna repeats, a smile on her lips as she repeats the very words that Chris had said to her.

Juna held out the the drop to her and Rin stares transfixed by it as she slowly reaches out to touch it. Her hand makes contact with the bead and gasps as the feeling of the earth rotating, the glimpse of the emotions of all of the people in the elemental nations and the very planet itself. Rin vaguely takes note that she is glowing with a faint blue as Juna glows with a vibrant green and seven points with in her lighting up and Rin can feel the reaction as all ten of her chakra gates suddenly swell as an energy surge form Juna rushes into her.

Juna releases the Drop of time and watches carefully as Rin accepts the Drop and as the Drop in turns accept her as her own arm reaches up to place the Drop on her own forehead. Shuddering as the bond between the Avatar is completed.

Juna sighs in triumph and slowly floats over the dazed form of Rin and waits patiently for her to regain her senses. Her eyes flutter as her mind re-orientates itself, distractedly taking note of the extra presence within her mind and the power slumbering behind the mental wall.

"That was..." Rin trails off, coming back to herself as she looks to Juna. Juna smiles and nods.

 _'I know. And now it's time the training'_ Juna replies, mirth and a deep understanding her eyes. Rin absently notes that the entire time that Juna has been speaking to, not once has she opened her mouth.

"Training?" Rin yelps as she's dragged further into the forest by the arm as Juna was suspiciously more solid then she was before.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I have an actual story up here! So, Kakashi is my favorite character and I was watching shippuden eps 349, 350 and 351. And what happened to Rin and to be honest what she did pissed me off. 
> 
> I think that the route that Rin took to ensure that her village was kept safe with both valiant and stupid. Minato was a known sealing master and Kakashi had summons. He literally could have sent a summons to the village and have them notify Minato who also has a the ability to teleport via seals and since the incident with Obito I think it's pretty damn valid that he would place a beacon on his students or something! Also there's gotta be other sealers in the village as well! Rin could have literally gone to the outskirts of the village perimeter and then waited for back up and! AND if Kakashi had sent a summons ahead there could have been reinforcements to kill the Kiri nin! ALSO since Rin KNEW that she was a JICHRUIKI, she could have told the reinforcements because she was semi awake and smart enough to put the DAMN pieces together that they were going to use her as a weapon! It's not like they put a damn puppet master Jutsu like Hiruko did to Kakashi in the third shippuden movie! SERIOUSLY! She didn't have to commit suicide via Teammate and saddle Kakashi with the mental trauma of killing is goddamn team mate!
> 
> ...Right. Sorry I just found that whole situation really annoying. But positive side, the rant is over. 
> 
> I came up with the idea after watching both Arjuna and Naruto ( specifically with Kakashi) but I didn't know how to put the idea together and flesh it out...And that's where the Awesome youtuber HiddenWhiteFang came in. This person did the MOST amazing AMVs for Kakashi (Specifically Team seven see you again, ANBU Kakashi: Do you feel lost, Kinoe/Kakashi - Find me in the Dark, Kakashi: and Kakashi: Let it burn) and the other Youtuber I_kiss_the_sky for Kakshi - My Demons, then and only then did my inspiration burst forth!
> 
> This story is unbetaed but I have done what I can and if you see something in the grammar that I missed, please let me know! And without further ado! The Disclaimer!
> 
> I do NOT own Naruto or Arjuna: Earth maiden they belong to their respective owners of Kishimoto and Shoji Kawamori.
> 
> Also on a side note so no one is lost, this happens right after Rin Dies, Kakashi collapses and Just after Obito has killed all the Kiri hunter nin! And I apologies if Kakashi is a little bit !OC, he's a hard character to get a read on. 
> 
> Again sorry for the long AN, at least it's at the end right?


	2. The First Skill

The First Skill

Rin huffed unable to 'resonate' with the earth as Juna had described multiple times. It's been six weeks since her...death but she just couldn't get the connection. Rin could feel the connection dormant in her mind but there was a blockage. She couldn't seem to break through. With a sigh, Rin lies down breathing in the soft scent of dew.

The forest, even though underground, had a sun like light source that was able to provide enough energy for sufficient photosynthesis. It wasn't warm like the sun but it wasn't cold either. Trees shelter her little clearing, looming over it, protecting it from the nonexistent natural powers. It doesn't rain here, there is no wind, there is no sun and yet everything here thrived. The plants, animals and insects all thrived in this strange environment.

She is of the land of Fire where the summers were hot, where the winters only held the faintest of chills and there was always a breeze flowing through the area, bringing with it faint scents of metal, oil and foods. There was the carefree laughs of children running through the street and the charka of civilians walking through the village. It was home, a place where she felt safe and protected with it's walls. It was the exact opposite of the forest shrine she now resides in.

A pang of loneliness shot through her. There was no one here but her and Juna who was brilliant company but Rin missed her village, her teammates, her sensei, her family. Since it was clear to her that Rin could not leave until her had at least completed more than half of her Avatar training but until then she was stuck. Her thoughts turned inwards, more specifically to Kakashi. How was he? Rin knew he wasn't going to be taking her 'death' well since he had dealt the final blow. Not after they had gotten closer after Obito's death and Kakashi, after Obito died, he had piled on the guilt and leaving none of it to her. Because of Obito, he had begun to change slowly at least. Rin was absolutely gobsmacked when Kakashi was fifteen minutes late. Something that he had never done before, considering he was practically obsessed with the Shinobi code of conduct. Rin knew that it was his own way of honoring Obito's life and the legacy he had left to Kakashi.

'Obito...' there was another thought that stung. Obito wasn't dead. If he was alive, then why didn't he come home? Where was he all this time? Kakashi had been almost drowning in guilt after his death and there Obito was, Alive. And for that reason the fact that he was alive and hadn't returned had stung. Alot.

Rin's eyes slid shut as she floated out of consciousness with her teammates on her mind.

x

Unknown to Rin, that as she had fallen asleep, the Drop on her forehead had started to glow a faint yellow as she drifted further away.

x

Rin was aware, aware of everything that was happening around her. She could feel the footsteps on the earth, the sound of insects leaping through the air, the animals burrowing into the ground, hear the whispers of the wind and understand. She could see it all and it amazed her. A surge of charka alerted her attention and she felt the earth shift around her, bringing her closer to the spike.

Rin wasn't sure what she was seeing, but it frightened her. Kakashi, her dear teammate Kakashi was drowning in guilt. She could see it in his eyes. But there was something else that had scared her more. Kakashi had joined ANBU. ANBU, a prestigious position and held in the highest regard by many, know to be the silent guards to the Hokage themselves and admired by many. However ANBU also had a reputation of leaving it's member broken sometimes psychologically, sometimes physically and sometimes both. And as a medic who had worked in the hospital, she had seen the effects. The scars from torture, the bleeding backs of ninja who pushed themselves so far in attempts of honorable suicide. The haunted look in their eyes and each and every one of them had an ANBU tattoo on their right shoulder.

She was scared for Kakashi because she could guess the reason why he had joined ANBU. Scared because of what it could do to him, of what she saw in others would happen to him the empty shells of shinobi who has seen and done the dirty work of the village. She wanted to reach out to him, to let him know that she was still here, that she was still alive but she had no form and could only watch. Kakashi was in ANBU uniform and practicing his own jutsu and as he formed the hand signs for Chidori, Rin watched him flinch as he ran towards the straw dummies scattered around the training field. She watched and even through Kakashi performed one hit kills, she could see that he was not truly seeing rather, his eyes were clouded with grief. And Rin knew that he was seeing her in her last moments. As he stopped moving and collapsed, staring unseeing lost in memory at the hand that had dealt the final blow. Rin tired to reach out, to DO something, anything to let him know that it was okay, that it wasn't his fault and that she was still here! Then Rin could feel it, the earth moving with her emotions. And by Kakashi's feet, a tree root slowly reached out and rested on Kakashi's foot.

x

Kakashi stared at his hand uncomprehendingly only seeing Rin's blood on it. He had joined ANBU because it let him run, run away from his fears and his failures. It gave him a way to bury his emotions and memories deep down but it only worked for a while because they always slipped through his carefully constructed walls. And his latest failure left him alone. There was one other member of Team Minato and that his sensei who was the Hokage now. A job that had left him little time to comfort Kakashi against his own fears.

He stiffened as the ground before him shifted. He doesn't move because he couldn't, he's too tired to move and all he wants to do is just...give up, to just stop but he can't hurt other around him anymore then he already has, so he keeps going. Instead of moving he stares as what looks like a root of a tree as it reaches out and gently rests itself on his foot and another root that he hadn't seen slowly inch up and gently warps itself around his hand and gives a soft squeeze in the strangest gesture of comfort. A rueful and bitter smiled danced on his masked lips as he stares at the appendages that are warm and pulse with heat. The scent that floats to his noise is a pained comfort. It's the smell of warmed earth under the sun, of ancient trees and a warm summer's day. It smelled of Rin, she had always reminded him of the steady earth. The constant between the two extremes of what was Kakashi and Obito.

She had smelt just like warm earth and comfort. It seemed fitting that it was a root, a part of the Earth that had reached out to comfort and remind him of Rin.

x

Rin smiled, suddenly exhausted as she succeeded in offering some small comfort to Kakashi. Again Rin had let her consciousness drift but still had the energy to leave one small message etched into the ground before him, enjoying the look of shock that passes over his eyes.

"Live"

x

The earth shifted again and it's to a new place and all she could see was darkness. There was the steady drip of water that Rin could free,in a that strange semi-awareness of touch. The earth here was damp and musky. A rustle of movement and Rin focused on it. Lying on the hard ground was Obito. He was asleep from what she could tell.

'Even after all this time, he still sleeps like that' Rin thought to herself, a hint of amusement as Obito lied eagle spread, mouth open in a silent snore. There was still he bitter taste of betrayal but the memories that she had seen held hope, because in the end it was a full circle. Obito came back to them as Obito.

'Should I end it now? To save them all?' Rin ponders on the possible answers to prevent what she had seen and as if acting towards her desires, tree roots like with Kakashi had risen from the ground and moved slowly towards Obito neck and hovered waiting a decision to be made.

'No.' The firm thought had the roots move away an inch to a less threatening distance 'No, I can't. He's my teammate no matter what he's done. There is always a chance' Rin metaphysically shakes her head and a more apparent and solid fact drifts to her mind.

'And Madara would end up choosing someone else and Obito's death would be in vein as there would be no point. Kaguya would still rise.' Rin takes another look at him and notices the tiny shiver that wracks his frame and her protective instincts take hold because even though he had betrayed their village, even though he had caused the fourth Great Shinobi war, he was still her teammate, her family. Rin could feel could feel the dirt beneath Obito soften and warm, the roots had the tiny side off shoots weave together to form a blanket and settle atop Obito, just as warm as the floor that he sleeps on.

'I'll save you. And I'll save Kakashi' Rin vows determinedly as she once again thinks of the visions that had lead her to accept this decision.

'And...I'll watch over you as well' as Rin focuses the last of her waning energy to carve a message into the ground.

"Forgive"

x

When Rin wakes, Juna is resting by a boulder staring intently at her as she blinks away the last vestiges of sleep. Her dreams staying close as she keeps them to her heart.

'You have successfully resonated with the earth' Juna states and catches Rin by surprise.

"...I Have?" She asks uncertainly as Juna gets a far off look in her eyes as she remembers a past that she had refused to tell Rin about.

'You have.' She says firmly. And suddenly the dreams become startlingly clear as she comes to realize that they weren't dreams by memories. A sad smiled crossed her features as she saw the state that her team mates were in. One consumed by guilt, so much so that he joined ANBU to run from his failure and the other, lost in rage and despair and trapped in a darkness that would both kill him and the world.

"I saw my team" Rin says quietly as she stares off in to the distance remembering their sorry states. Juna looks at her encouragingly.

"Kakashi has joined ANBU and I'm scared that he'll lose himself." She confesses as she vividly envisions the blank look in his eyes.

"And Obito...He's no better. He is lost in bitter rage and despair" Rin swallows, her throat suddenly dry, her eyes tight and pricking with unbidden tears.

Juna says nothing, but moves closer and offers a silent comfort, hugging her close and wrapping her robe around Rin as she breaks into tears not making as sound as she sobs. clutching tight at her clothes as the consequences of her actions settle down. Both of her teammate are broken, and she broke them. Kakashi who holds his silent grief and throws himself into missions and training and Obito who has turned on the world, who destroyed it in some misguided attempt to bring her back. And they don't know that she's alive, that she can't return and that she can Save them.

But for now, Rin grieves. She grieves for the times lost, the times they had and for all the times both before and after that she cries her two boys because theyy won't cry for themselves so she does it for them instead. She knows that they will meet again and knows that it won't be with pleasant company or circumstance but it's start. Just now...now is for the guilt and the pain that she had caused the both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And DONE! 
> 
> Also, I'm not sure if I mentioned it, I'm mainly following the anime and maybe little bits of AU sprinkled in. Kakashi is a bit AU because Rin just died and he is dealing with PDST, nightmares and all but he's keeping it all in so much so that even the ANBU don't notice it when he's on missions. He is going to get better but it will be a while before that happens since all of this is piling on. 
> 
> So please review and let me know what you think!


	3. A Kakashi Interlude: The Times After...

A Kakashi Interlude: The times after...

Kakashi stood motionless, staring at two names etched onto the memorial stone. One " Nohara Rin" And another "Uchiha Obito" Both of them were his genin teammates and both of them had died. Rin to save the village and Obito to save him. Obito had saved him from himself, he had broken through the walls Kakashi had erected to protect himself from the glares and whispers that followed behind from before and after the death of his father. In true Obito style, he had continued beating at the wall until he made is way in.

'He didn't stop there' Kakashi thinks to himself, a rueful smile on his lips as he thinks of Obito.  
'You blundered straight in and then turned around to break all the walls I've had and give me a new perspective on life' He thinks to the stone which now holds Obito's memory. His smile turns bitter as he recalls how he was. Even after being such an ass to Obito, berating him for every shinobi rule that he had broken by always coming late and letting his emotions run rampant when that's exactly what made Obito the better person. And yet after all the comments of being dead-last and beneath him, Obito still saved him when he could have kept moving and left Kakashi there, Obito gifted him with His sharingan, the very dojutsu that he always say he'd get. And he gave it to Kakashi as a gift. And Kakashi had promised him that he would protect Rin, watch over her in his place and even in that he had failed. Rin had died by his hand, because he had been to slow to stop, or to stupid to think that Rin would try something like that. Either way, Kakashi had failed in keeping his promise to Obito. Kakashi felt disgusted at himself for killing her and cold do nothing in the face of his own self hate.

Kakashi ignores the prickling in his eyes, forcing the urge to cry deep down until he had it locked away in a vault that he wished he could never open again and throw away the key. Kakashi's eye drifts further down and he traces her name with is eye, one of the most recent additions to the stone. But unlike Obito, Rin had a grave and an individual headstone but Kakashi couldn't bring himself to visit it. Not when he knew there is no body buried underneath only some of her belongings but not her. When he had learnt that Rin's body had been missing, it felt like a cruel joke. He was alive with a bounty on his head and the only one who isn't an Uchiha with a sharingan and yet they took Rin, the body of his dead teammate. Kakashi remembers the day when he had been told that. It had been Minato-sensei who told him.

-Flash Back-

He was in the hokage tower, giving his mission report on the events with Kiri, heart clenching when he finished with the death of Rin by his hand, that feeling of loathing rising up in his throat and did nothing to stop it because it was His fault that Rin died. Minato-sensei had stiffened in the corner. Kakashi kept his face school in an neutral mask, his voice just as emotionless but from the look on Minato's face, he wasn't fooled. Kakashi was sure he could read the grief in his eye and the self directed hate.

"...I lost conscious and woke in the hospital" he finishes his report, eye focused on the ground before him.

"Thank you Jounin Kakashi for your service" Lord Third begins and Kakashi tenses, there is something in his voice that sets him on edge.

"Boar" the Hokage's voice is firm and suddenly an ANBU appears and kneels beside Kakashi, head bowed.

"prepare the necessary funeral arrangements for Chūnin Nohara Rin" he says and Kakashi tenses further, indignant fury rushing through his veins. Rin was his teammate and thus the duty to prepare her funeral fell onto himself and Minato-sensei. Kakashi lifted his head to protest but a look from Minato quells the urge and the words die in his mouth. Minato's eyes are pained and saddened but there is also anger just hidden under both heavy emotions. Kakashi feels a semblance of guilt rise up, he was so wrapped up in his own grief, he forgot that his sensei was also grieving too. They were his first team and, though he hadn't said it, but he had come to see the three of them as his own children and now two of them were gone, dead. And for both time, he wasn't fast enough to save them.

Kakashi chokes down any words of remorse and comfort as the hokage speaks again, but promises himself to spend some time with Minato-sensei so that they could grieve together.

"There is something you are to be told but I am not the one to tell you." The Hokage speaks again, his tone soothing and apologetic. He nods to Minato-sensei and turns back to his paper work giving the guise of privacy. Minato-sensei steps forward and now there is regret added to the already turmoil emotions, covering the anger further.

"Sensei..." Kakashi begins to ask but stops when the pained look becomes apparent on Minato's face as he opens his mouth to speak.

"Kakashi..." he hesitates, carefully looking Kakashi in the eye.

"Rin's body was never recovered" Minato finishes, watching the reaction of his last living student.

Kakashi stills, his mind replaying Minato's words.

'Rin's body was never recovered'  
'Rin's body was never recovered'  
'...never recovered'  
'...never recovered'

Kakashi's eye flickers between the Hokage and Minato, as he being to panic. That meant that anything could have been done to her body, whoever had it would not only have the secrets of their village but...Kakashi had seen the experiments that were performed on the bodies of enemy ninja, and the thought, the chance that would happen to Rin's body sickened him.

"what do you mean?" he asks shakily, his chakra flaring erratically. Minato opens his mouth to speak but Kakashi cuts him off.

"She was there. How did they not find her?" Kakashi is breathing heavily, Rin's voice whispering in his ear.

"K..Kakashi"

He shudders and doesn't notice the sharp look in Minato's eyes, catching the subtle movement.

"When the ANBU had arrived to retrieve you, only you were recovered. Rin's body wasn't found, though there were signs that she had been there and footsteps were foundd but they led into the nearby forest and then suddenly stopped." Minato explains carefully, his voice soft. Kakashi, feeling a sudden surge of guilt scrambles for words and reasons.

"Then the funeral, why the funeral of there is no..." He doesn't finish, he can't. He doesn't want what he is hearing to be real. Because it mean burying a lie in an empty box.

"Rin's condition as a Jinchūriki is classified as well as the...absence of her body. The funeral is a cover for what we do not have, her body. And..." The Hokage's voice is stern and unyielding but Kakashi can't hear it anymore, he's not listening He can feel the walls of the room closing in on him, feels the invisible eyes of the ANBU weighing down on him. His mind registers few words as the Hokage speaks, he isn't listening and as soon he hears the word "Dismissed" Kakashi shunshin of the office.

-End Flash Back-

He hadn't taken the news well, he still wasn't taking it well.

'Why was I left alive when my team were all dead?' He silently questions the stone as if it hold the answers but he knows otherwise.

And when Rin's funeral came, he still attended even though it was an empty casket that was buried. But even this knowledge didn't stop him coming from talking to the head stone that held her name, because like the memorial, it was the only thing of what he had that belonged to his teammates. Even something as simple as a name.

With a tired sigh, Kakashi remained at the memorial stone, lost in the possibilities of what if's and could have's. And by the time he had managed to pull himself away from the stone, he was already three hours late for his meeting with Minato-sensei.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! There you have it!
> 
> I wanted to have something that affects Kakashi in the fact that Rin's body isn't found since she came back to life. It was a bit hard since ninja die all the time so I had it that because Rin had become a jichuriki they would have wanted to retrieve her body. Plus since Kakashi is her teammate the fact that Rin's body is missing or taken means that it could have experiments done with it like Oro-teme does to people. So hence his reaction to the absence of her body. Obito doesn't know any of this. He thinks that Rin is actually buried in Konoha.
> 
> Please let me know what you think by hitting that little button near the bottom of the page that is for reviews!


	4. The Loss

Rin had spent weeks, or what felt like weeks since it was hard to count the time in a place where there was no night or day, testing and strengthening her connection with the planet. She observed different hidden villages, watched children play and laugh all over fire country and had performed many small acts of kindness leaving many bystanders dumbfounded. But even with this ability, Rin felt that there something was missing, that she was slightly incomplete or not completely connected

Rin knew the source of the aching empty feeling, why she couldn't properly experience the feeling of being complete as Juna had described, why she couldn't fully connect and lower all barriers between the planet and herself. It was all because she hadn't fully 'awakened', something that Juna had yet to teach her and every time the girl pestered the woman, she would deflect the question or ignore it completely saying countless times that she wasn't ready yet rather opting to lecture Rin on her new duties. Countless times Rin had left in a huff after vocalizing her need to become stronger. She had seen the future of the planet, the future of her teammates and Rin desperately wanted to improve so that this could be prevented. Until Juna asked how she was going to save them if she couldn't save herself and use her new abilities to the fullest?

'What use are you to them if you go mad from the whispers of the planet? What use are you if you are killed when it could have been prevented had you had full control over your powers? What use would you be then, Rin?' 

Rin had known the answer to that question even though she didn't say anything until Juna had left. 

"I wouldn't be" she had whispered into forest devoid of human life, stunned by the revelation.

After that Rin had agreed to a compromise, she would remain at the shrine until all she had to do was fully awaken and Juna woulds teach her to Spirit walk now so she could interact more with her environment instead of just using tree roots. Rin had jumped at the chance to learn a new way to help her family. Thus this had lead to what felt like weeks of meditation, many attempted spirit walks that had failed, interspersed with the practice of her tree root abilities, practice of the kata and jutsu that she had been taught by Minato-sensei and the academy. After all it wouldn't do for her to be remiss in her training should she encounter enemy shinobi on her future travels. When Juna had come across the scene of her evasion and speed training she merely quirked and eyebrow before floating deeper into the forest muttering about paranoid ninja (she wasn't wrong). And as it turns out the animals of the forest did have surprisingly good aim when came to throwing nuts and acorns.

The thought of Minato-sensei sent a pang of guilt through her, she had been so focused on her teammates, her family that she had forgotten the father figure of the trio of them. Rin knew that Minato-Sensei had seen the three of them as his own children and that he had taken Obito's death hard. Perhaps even harder than Kakashi but he had hidden it well. There were moments where Rin had see the anguish and the doubt caused by question of possibilities, of the 'What if?' in his eyes. She had seen but was too wrapped up in her own grief to do anything about it. With that in mind, Rin promises herself that the next time she meditates and visit's Kakashi, she would visit Minato-sensei as well.

As Rin settled down for her daily peak on the village, Rin could feel a...chill in the air but it wasn't just that, it seemed that the planet was holding it's breath and that had made her uneasy. With that in mind, Rin felt the urge to check on her precious people once again. Closing her eyes, Rin could feel the connection take hold

x

She could feel everything. It was quite disconcerting at first but there was always that feeling of wonder and amazement that never seemed to have left. Focusing on her home, Rin could feel the shit as her area of awareness, as she called it, centred on the Leaf. And she could feel every one in the village, for the newly born to those who live and to the elderly and the dying. It was a strangely humble feeling, to know that humans no matter how powerful always succumb to the finality that time brought. Death.

'That is a morbid thought' Rin reflects, feeling oddly despondent.

Concentrating once more, Rin could feel the same chill in the air that she had felt back in the shrine and feeling it this far out made her unease for the near future increase. Looking back in the memories that she had seen from her two boys, she wonders if this is the night that Sensei and Kunshina die. With a shudder she forces herself to focus on Kakashi's location and as the earth shifts once again Rin finds herself watching Guy interact with Kakashi, clearly against his will, but she ignores this as a warmth fills her being. She is happy that Kakashi has someone to talk to rather than isolate himself but as she watches the two interact she can't help but notice that even though Kakashi does enjoy interacting with Guy, he still holds him at arms length. Rin sighs, at least there is some progress there and she knows that in the future when Kakashi is hurting Guy will drag him out and force him to see what is still out there, who is still out there and into his life and for that Rin is forever grateful and considers herself in Guy's debt.

There is a sudden flare of Sensei's chakra and Rin remembers her promise to visit the man. The flare that she had felt was full of shock, joy and fear tinged with a kind of wariness that only came from loss and war. With a fluid movement that came from months of practice, Rin shifts her area of awareness again. Rin sees a room that is bare save for a screaming Kushina, a frightful Minato, the Third's wife and a mid-wife and four seals with the kanji of the cardinal directions: North, South, East and West. Rin has little doubt that together they form a very powerful barrier seal. There is a sudden shout of pain and Rin's attention is once again on the fiery red-head and the frantic blond and as she watches, Rin could fee the shock of an epiphany seep in.

'Kushina is having a baby' came a stray thought which was promptly followed by another.  
'Minato-Sensei is going to be a father...this will not end well' While Minato-Sensei is a great shinobi and teacher, it was known that all Shinobi, high level ones in particular are generally quite...quirky. Minato-Sensei especially so when it came to his seals and their use in everyday life and in training. Rin and her teammates had learn't to stay away or to tread carefully when ever he had come to training declaring that he had created a new seal that needed to be tested. The first time was enough to scar even Kakashi who would become extremely wary when Minato came in the 'testing' mood as they had dubbed it. Rin shuddered and without realizing it, the earth had shuddered lightly in response creating a small tremor on the surface in the village. This had caused the midwives and Minato to look around to check for damage, and Rin could swear that Minato-Sensei had looked her in the eyes as though he knew she was there

Rin would have giggled at the sight if she had not felt the five chakra signals she had absently registered be violently snuffed out. Her apprehension increased and as though through some unspoken acknowledgment the tree roots began to slowly protrude through the cracks in the stone floor, slowly enough to escape the notice of the distracted ninja. All attention was drawn the sharp cry of a newborn baby, shrill and full of life and hope. Rin watch as the Third's wife gently wrapped the babe in a blue swaddle and move past Minato-Sensei to give the child to Kushina and poking just above the cloth was bright blond hair, more bright than the father's and Rin knew that the child would have eyes just as blue as his father and the tenacity of his mother. Rin was distracted by the bundle of joy when Obito appeared, stabbing both the Third's wife and the mid-wife before snatching the child and jumping back. She watched this with an unnerving calm.

With calm and practiced will and movement, Rin turned her attention away from when Obito was threatening Sensei's child and focused on the two women bleeding out. As Minato lunged for the child and vanished, the roots that rested in a waiting position rushed out and wrapped the two women in a protective embrace, some of the roots had attempted to reach Kushina but Obito had gotten to her first. Rin watched Obito pause for a moment as he took in the scene of the roots cocooning the two women and the ones that had reached for Kushina before leaving through a swirling portal. Turning her attention back to the injured women, Rin could feel that they were both alive but bleeding out, the Third's wife more so than the other woman. Remembering one of the lesson from Juna, Rin focused her intent and imbued the roots with what chakra she could pull through from her own body and set out about to slow the bleeding. Through this intent, some of the roots moved closer to the wound and gained a soft green pulsing glow.

Not long after, Rin could sense another five chakra signals coming quickly. The Third Hokage came rushing in to the room followed by a team of four ANBU and Rin watched as his chakra flared frantically before a sense of despair slowly settled. Slowly Rin encouraged the roots to unfurl and watched as the Third was immediately on guard from the action. Rin watched the Sandime's eyes widen at the sight of his wife safely wrapped in the roots and the further they unrolled the more she saw the hope shine in his eyes until the roots stopped moving altogether and the once Hokage rushed to the aid of his wife. Rin saw the hope and felt it though his aura and smiled, this was another life that she had managed to save. There must have been an unseen command because one of the ANBU also rushed forward with both hands glowing green with the intent to heal and Rin watched as the Third's wife was brought back from the brink of death.  
There was an unsaid collective sigh of relief as the third's wife remained breathing( And Rin figured she really should learn the woman's name) and was announced as stable.

"Bird, take her to safety" the Sandime commanded with a firm voice to which the mentioned ANBU acknowledged with a Shunshin and vanished with the injured woman. With a jolt Rin realized that the other woman in her hold had also been take with the ANBU and Rin gave an inaudible sigh of relief and then focused her attention on her Sensei and Kushina. Something was wrong and Rin could feel the corrosive chakra in the air and felt many lives snuff out and prayed that she had made it time.

x

Rin had just shifted in time to witness the last moment of her Sensei and his wife and as the claw tore through the chests of Minato and Kushina, Rin let out a strangled cry and Ripped herself forward only to collapse before them as she watched the couple bade their final goodbyes to the child. There wasn't a thing she could do, she hadn't been able to change *anything*, she hadn't been able to save them. A ragged breath drew her attention but Rin couldn't look away from the blood and the claw that had pierced their chests.

"It's good to see you again...Rin" Her head snapped up and her heart broke as she took in the pained and broken smile.

"...Seal"

"Minato-Sensei!" Rin cried out as the last of the nine-tailed fox was pulled into the belly of the his only child. She watches their bodies collapse and refuses to let herself think on the deaths.

Rin moves away from their bodies and lingers over the crying child, the final legacy of her Sensei and the last of the great Uzumaki clan and Rin knows that this child would lead a difficult life and would face many hardships. A lost look in her eyes and a sad frown plays upon her lips as she makes one more silent promise.

'I'll watch over and protect you son too, Minato-Sensei, Kushina'

Rin stays as a silent vigil until she can feel the desperation of the Third and two other's chakra as they come barreling into the clearing. She watch as the two make their way over, calling out Minato-Sensei' and Kushina's name, desperate to to get a response and when Kushina speaks, Rin admires her strength to stay alive long enough to tell the Sandime the name of her Child. Naruto. And when she dies, Kushina looks to Rin her eyes widening and she smiles before her eyes close for a final time.

Rin can feel her soul leave and the urge to cry wells up stronger then ever. Staring at the corpses of the people she had always considered precious, the ones who had taught her the skills to survive and had treated her like a daughter and not just a solider. So when it begin to rain, Rin cries with the sky morning the lost of the two greatest and strongest people she ever had the privilege of knowing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! here is another chapter, please be aware that it is also unbeta'd. If there are any mistakes or mis-spellings that I missed let me know!  
> So now it begins!  
> I may take a while to post the next chapter which may be an Obito interlude, not really sure!   
> So yeah She was learning spirit walking but couldn't get the right way of doing it so when her sensei and Kushina died she was able to achieve it through metal trauma and the want and need to be there to help.  
> Any questions, let me know!


	5. An Obito Interlude: Embarcing Darkness

Obito's Interlude: Embracing Darkness

Obito wakes with Rin's name on his lips, half formed thoughts and a fading dream on his mind. The ground is soft and warm and there is a blanket of roots that covers him. He breaths in the scent that is Rin, the same scent that has always been a comfort to him during the hard missions and the long nights.

But Rin is dead. Dead with a hole where her heart should be.

dead. dead. dead. dead.

'And it's Kakashi's fault' he thinks viciously before pausing.  
'No...It's not just Kakashi, but this who shinobi system that has caused Rin's death' he corrects, dark rage swirling though him at the very thing that had stolen Rin from him, that had Kakashi break his promise to protect her, at the system that turned the clogs of war. 'All of this' he thinks 'was the cause to Rin's death'

Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.

And Obito hates, he hates the world for it's lack of peace, he hates Kakashi for breaking his promise to him, he hates Minato for not being there to save her, to save him. He hates this reality where there is no Rin because Rin in dead.

DEAD. DEAD. DEAD. DEAD.

The roar in his head his broken by the voice of another.

"...Madara want to see you" a soft voice breaks the silence and Obito looks to see Tobi, his one annoying company in these months in this damp cave. Obito doesn't say anything to acknowledge it's company but simply get up.

He leaves the warmth of the ground, the blanket and the comforting smell of Rin that makes him want to cry. Instead Obito makes his way to the white artificial human because Madara is waiting.

It was Madara who had saved him from the brink of death when he is sure no other could. It was Madara who showed him the truth of this world. It was Madara who told him of his plans of world peace and his chance of finally seeing Rin again. It was Madara who saw his potential and chose him over Kakashi and it is Madara who will leave him the duty of bring peace to the blood stained Shinobi world.

And so Obito moves away from the comfort offered by the earth, away from the smell of Rin, and further into the darkness with dreams of peace and hope being twisted by the ideals of a man who should have died long ago but still clings to life. Obito moves into this darkness willingly and never once seeing the small message carved into the ground.

"Forgive"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! An Obito interlude! Well I hope this conveys how far gone the boy is after Rin's death.  
> As all the other chapters this is unbeta'd and I would appreciate it if you would give me a shout if there are any mistakes in spelling or grammar.  
> Sorry it's pretty short as well!


	6. The Third Skill and Dreams of a Future

The deaths of Sensei and his wife hit Rin hard and caused her to throw herself into training, drowning out the hurt and the betrayal stinging in her heart from Obito. Watching it happen was very different than seeing in his memories. And so Rin trains, she stretches her ability with the plants moving more than just the roots of trees but branches and trunks too, she gains new skills influencing the smaller animals like fish and birds to swim and fly in a direction she wants. Rin increases the time she can hold her spirit from from a few hours to days. She trains even harder in her nin, gen and taijutsu from both her knowledge and what she manages to glean when watching others in secret. Time passes quickly only marked by the days she lets herself see the village because it hurts looking at the destruction and death but even so, Rin can't bring herself to hate the demon. Not when she knows the damaged caused in the village was because of Obito, not when she knows that they have been keeping him prisoner and scorning him with hate. In a way she understands his role as the nine-tails, that he is not pure evil rather a force of nature. A grey entity much like the Raja of Juna's time.

The grief and understanding and hurt doesn't stop her from visiting Naruto, the adorable bundle of joy with whisker-marks and blond hair like the sun. Lively, full of joy and yet is looked upon with scorn. Only a babe and yet he is already hated for the passenger that he carries. So Rin does what she can and visits as frequently as possible, resolutely ignoring the pain in her heart when looking at him because he has Minato-Sensei's hair and eyes but his face is all Kushina. She appears to him, plays with him by waggling her fingers and giggling as he tries to catch them in his chubby hands. Rin continues to come because she knows others will not play and because from some reason he can see her when she is there when no one else can, not even other babies and she's checked. Rin stays keeping her promise to Naruto and his parents, offering comfort when the matron of the orphanage he's been placed in does not, giving him warmth on a cold night when the blankets are too thin and recounting tale of the great feats his parents performed to him, to let him know that he is loved. Rin could careless about the laws that surround the boy because it's the worst kept secret in the village and because this is Sensei's Son. Like hell she wouldn't tell him of his heritage as the Son of the Yondaime Hokage, Last of the Uzumaki and Son to the Red Hot Habanero.

Kakashi is harder to find, simply because he throws himself into ANBU missions in a bid to stay away from the village and Rin thinks 'away from Naruto'. She knows how much Minato-Sensei meant to Kakashi and looking at him must have hurt but it is still no excuse to just leave him alone with the wolves, so to speak. So Rin keeps watch only catching the last glimpses of Kakashi as he barely rests let alone sleeps in his apartment. But recently, Rin notices something has changed because Kakashi has been staying longer and sleeping in his apartment too. Curious with the change and already having an idea as to why, Rin follows Kakashi for a time. From there it had quickly become clear that Kakashi was playing the double agent between Root and Sandaime. Withdrawing her presence, Rin continued to shadow him until the assassination attempt of Root on the Third Hokage.

Rin merely watched the scene play out before her like it had in Kakashi's memories. Rin had no doubt that Kakashi would perform this mission to his best and remain an exemplary shinobu but what Rin was worried about was how he was coping as a person with the deaths of Minato-Sensei and Kushina. Rin knew staying away from Naruto was one such way but she stayed anyway and shadowed him until he reached his apartment exhausted and fell in to his futon, asleep without even taking the mask off.

x

Night fell and Rin watched, pained as Kakashi jackknifed from a nightmare, breathing raggedly, staring at his hand. The hand that hand been through her chest, the hand that had killed her. There were tears in his eyes as he stared, silent sobs shaking his shoulders. Closing her eyes, Rin feels the guilt creep up on her. This was her fault. She had caused this because she knows of his dreams. They were the remaining members of team Minato and now, to the knowledge of the leaf there was only one left. Rin was drawn out of her thoughts as Kakashi left his Futon and moved to the kitchen.

Rin followed curiously but felt her heart break as she watched Kakashi wash his hand in an attempt to wash off the blood that wasn't there anymore and she knew he was attempting to wash of her blood.

"It won't wash off" he mutters under his breath and Rin can only watch as he scrubbed his hand red and raw with unshed tears gathering in his eyes. With a silent sob, Rin regrets her decision staying away and not returning if only to save Kakashi this pain. And When Rin fades, Kakashi is still washing his hand.

x

'There is a way to sooth his soul' The soft chime of Juna's voice breaks the silence. Rin slowly looks up, a defeated look in her eyes. Juna winces softly but continues to stare at Rin with all the patience she can muster. Juna had a vague idea on how close the teams got. A Shinobi's team mates became a second family to them, and seeing Kakashi in that state had broken something in Rin. Juna sighs and continues.

'As the Avatar of time, you have many abilities and one of them is to dream walk.' She says directly in an effort not to put Rin through what Chris had done with all his riddles.

"Dream walk?" comes the horse voice of her apprentice. Juna nods decisively.

'Yes, you have the ability to change or influence the dreams of another when in your spirit form.' There is a flicker of life in Rin's eyes as she comes up with a way to at least comfort Kakashi, even if in a small way.

"Please teach me" Rin stares with all the determination she can muster. Juna smiles.

x

It was after a particularly taxing ANBU mission and a visit to Rin's grave when it happens. Kakashi never expected it considering all of his dreams up on til now were all replays and nightmare of the deaths of his team mates. Even now, the thought of their deaths still sends stabs of sharp pains to his heart and his regrets burst to the forefront of his mind. He had expected this night to be no different and yet it was.

x

He is suddenly in the motion of chopping wood. As he contemplates why and when the memories and guilt will come and haunt him, taunt him for his failures. Kakashi can feel his body move in the same motion before a hand claps his shoulder whirling around, Kakashi can only stare dumbfounded at the smooth unblemished face of Obito, the care free grin and the mischief twinkling his is obsidian eyes.

"Hey, Bakashi. Surprise ya?" asks Obito and Kakashi can only stare in shock before the question comes to mind and he surprises himself when the reply comes quick and easy.

"Not on your life. As if you could sneak up on me" He snorts even though he knows that's exactly what happened. 'But, this is a dream' Kakashi muses 'I might as well enjoy it while it lasts'. Obito laughs at his answer, a grin stretching his mouth and Kakashi thinks that this is what Sun must feel like because dream or not, this feeling is still real.

"Come on, Rin made breakfast!" Obito tugs at Kakashi and hurries along a path that Kakashi hadn't noticed, himself staring in wonder at Obito's hand. before his eye snaps open in shock.

"Wait, Rin?" his voice is horse and thick with emotion that he hadn't wanted to seep through. Obito hums and continues to drag Kakashi up to a modest size wooden cottage. And Kakashi can only stare in wonder as Rin comes out, a spatula in one hand as she waves them over. Obito still doesn't let go and for that Kakashi is greatful.

"The food's getting cold, so hurry up!" Rin's melodic voice calls, a smile on her face as she waves them forward. Kakashi can *feel* Obito's grin as he tugs Kakashi forward, he turns and smiles at him too and even with his mask, Kakashi can't help but grin back and this time move forward together with Obito to get to Rin's cooking. This was what he longed for and this is what he had lost. But even then, he could feel his soul get a little lighter as he laughed at Obito's jokes and sheepishly rubbing his head from the gentle scoldings of Rin around the table.

x

When Kakashi wakes, he remembers the dream and feels an up well of happiness in his heart. And a sense of guilt that he took this away. It crushes his happy mood.

Then there is something that brushes his head, it feels like fingers. He doesn't want to open his eye, that way he can pretend it's Rin who is brushing her fingers through his hair.

A sigh.

"Be happy and do not take my death as your guilt. Remember our time with fondness not regret. I do not blame you and this is not your burden to carry. Live happy and be free. Kakashi" A voice mummers, *Rin's* voice mummers. Kakashi's eyes snap open and manages to catch a glimpse of her sad smile before she fades like a dream. With a defeated sigh Kakashi closes his eyes and smiles once again, losing himself in the fond memories and the dream that he had. Completely unaware that Rin had stayed and watched with a brighter smile.

x

If anyone in ANBU noticed a slight spring in his step or the ghost of a smile on his masked lips, no one said anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! Tada! Another chapter in a short time frame! I hope you enjoy this because the idea wouldn't leave me alone! Again this is unbeta'd so forgive me for the spelling and grammar mistakes and please let me know of there is such mistakes so that I can fix them. I felt that Kakashi needed another break since he pretty much lost everyone close to him, so I felt the need to at least make him less gloomy and not spend as much time around the memorial stone later on in the series.

**Author's Note:**

> Yup!  
> So Rin is alive and now the Avatar of time. She does have a duty to the planet but she cares for her teammates more so that's the reason she's going so far. Yes There are some spoilers and Yes I'm having Kaguya as the bad guy that kills the planet. Although she does it unknowingly but the threat is still there and that is all the planet cares about.


End file.
